i'm deborah feyerick in for brooke baldwin. and we are beginning with breaking news. officials are not calling it a truce, but they're not calling it a cease-fire either. it appears that israel and hamas are on the verge of agreeing to a time-out. standing down on attacks that have bloodied the region for the last six days. the latest technology toll, 118 people, 114 of them palestinian have been killed as rockets and missiles crisscrossed the skies over hamas-controlled gaza. amidst the shelling, the sound everyone wanted to hear, egypt's president mohamed morsi suggesting progress in attempts at brokering a cease-fire. and backing hamas, released a statement saying, the travesty of the israel aggression on gaza will end in a few hours. we're going to get to the details of all of this and the apparent pause in fighting in just a moment. but first, we want to look at the united states role and all the various players that are involved in this. and in about an hour, secretary of state hillary clinton is to meet with israel prime minister

benjamin netanyahu. tomorrow, she is scheduled to meet with the palestinian authority. mahmoud abbas. he's in the west bank. that's on the opposite side of israel from gaza. he's going to be talking -- talking to the palestinian authority, it is a way really to communicate with hamas. now, clinton cannot speak with hamas directly because the united states considers it a terrorist group. so by talking to palestinians she can reach hamas. talking to egypt's president is going to be her last stop. as we see here. so by talking to egypt, that's another way for her to communicate with hamas. the region is watching her every step. not only for a cease-fire, but perhaps also for a long-term resolution. a member of hamas told cnn by phone today how his organization is looking to see what the u.s. does. >> i think the egyptians are waiting for some support from

the united states in order to make an -- we expect to have an outcome of this today. >> you have so many moving parts in all of this. there is a discrepancy, hamas saying this was a cease-fire, but israel is call iing it a ca down period. and here is israel's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, moments before word came. >> no country would tolerate rocket attacks against its cities and against its civilians. israel cannot tolerate such attacks. if a long-term solution can be put in place through diplomatic means, then israel would be a willing partner to such a solution. but if stronger military action proves necessary to stop the constant gara constant barrage of rockets, israel will not hesitate to do what is necessary to defend our

people. >> the most surprising thing for the palestinians is always talking about the israeli needs, about israeli security, about israel -- without talking about the palestinian needs, about the palestinian security, about the palestinian lives. israel has the most powerful equipped army in the region. israel is more powerful than -- then they are claiming at the same time they are afraid of the palestinians. >> now, let's get to the details of what could be a possible and imminent time-out. ben wedeman is live for us in gaza city. and, ben, what are you hearing from both sides as to whether this time-out, this quiet period will actually happen? >> reporter: well, that certainly seems to be what's on the plans, on the drawing board,

this would be an experimental period where they have 24 hours to try to see if the cease-fire holds. now, we're getting conflicting messages. i spoke to one senior hamas official who said that at 9:00 p.m. cairo time, 10:00 p.m. eastern standard time, that there would be an announcement in cairo, by an official, from the egyptian government and from hamas, announcing some sort of agreement for at least a temporary cease-fire. however, we're hearing from other hamas officials that israel has yet to agree to this proposed cease-fire and the israelis are saying there is nothing as of yet. but the idea is rather than send out broad guidelines for a period of peace and calm, they just want to see if both sides can keep the peace. now, one of the concerns here is that it is not just hamas who is operating in gaza, there are other groups like islamic jihad, affiliated with iran, even

smaller splinter groups out there that hamas doesn't necessarily control completely. and therefore that's why they want to give this -- this initial period to see if the peace can indeed or quiet or calm can hold. >> ben, in terms of the entire region, and we're standing sort of by a map which i want to show our viewers, this and is of israel, you've got the west bank on one side. hillary clinton is going to be looking -- is going to be meeting with the president of the palestinian authority, not with hamas. can hamas even make any sort of an agreement that really would bring both of the factions together? >> well, the question of the divisions between the fattah movement on the west bank and gaza on the other is sort of secondary to what we're discussing now. secretary clinton is going to go to ra malia to meet with the

members of the palestinian authority, but more than anything, that is sort of a face-saving exercise. what really matters are the egyptians, the egyptians have very close ties with the hamas movement, the hamas movement, after all, is an off chute of the egyptian muslim brotherhood, the ruling group in egypt at the moment. so the egyptians really are calling the shots in this case, and they will be able to pass those messages directly to hamas, hamas trusts the egyptians, they don't, however, trust the fattah movement on the west bank to be an intermediary because you have to remember, just five years ago there was a shooting war here in gaza, between hamas and fattah. >> all right, ben wedeman for us there, thanks, in gaza city. we appreciate your reporting. as we hear more about a possible suspension of fighting, another rocket today targets jerusalem. the missile didn't actually strike the city, but it is the second time jerusalem has been targeted since the conflict

began. our senior international correspondent sara sidner is in jerusalem. and, sara, has there been any letup in the attacks as we approach this sort of calming down, this time-out period? >> reporter: the answer to that is unfortunately no. we saw at least four rockets, we can see it from our vantage point here on the mount of olives looking down on the old city. you see the dome of the rock right behind me and we saw those rockets coming from gaza towards southern israel, probably landing somewhere over ashkelon and places that have been hit repeatedly. we know the sirens went off not too long ago there and some rockets were intercepted by the iron dome. we know there was a hit an hour ago in gaza, the israeli military saying they were targeting a militant area where there were rockets being fired. so the thing is, if there is going to be a quieting down, and that's got to happen before they get into these peace talks,

before they try and come up with some sort of a cease-fire, or truce. and we're not seeing that so far. we have seen some of the damage and some of the neighborhoods on both sides of the fight, and it is just one of those things where people here are ready for this to end. they want not only a cease-fire now, but they want a real permanent solution and there is a feeling that permanent solution needs to happen now, and it is not likely they're going to get it. first they have to come up with a quiet period, than a cease-fire and hopefully at some point in time, they'll be able to work through something more permanent for the future. >> the interested thing, they're working with the cease-fire and the truce with hamas right now. any sort of longer term resolution, if washington is involved, would have to come through the different -- the palestinian authority, which is not getting along very well with hamas right now. sara sidner, thank you very much, we appreciate your reporting. and just a short time from now, secretary of state hillary clinton is scheduled to arrive

in the region and one of the leaders she will meet with, egypt's new president, mohamed morsi. there is a lot riding on this. we'll have what their meeting means for the united states coming up next. [ male announcer ] this is sheldon, whose long dy setting up the news starts with arthritis pain and a choice. take tylenol or take aleve, the #1 recommended pain reliever by orthopedic doctors. just two aleve can keep pain away all day. back to the news.

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well, u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton is en route to the middle east. this as israelis and hamas could be on the verge of agreeing to 24 hours of calm. not a cease-fire, not a truce. but a time-out in military activity. secretary clinton is due to arrive in jerusalem an hour from now, before heading to ramallah and on to what many say could be the most important stop, cairo. it is there that she'll meet with egyptian president mohamed morsi. he predicted earlier today that the aggression on gaza would end in a few hours. i want to bring in cnn's jill dougherty, who is at the state department. and, jill, the u.s. does not talk to hamas. both talk to egypt. egypt now is the middle man. is clinton -- what is secretary clinton hoping to achieve in her talks with morsi? right now, we're only dealing with the cease-fire, really no long-term solution. >> right. and that's a very good point. so what we're told here at the state department is she has the most immediate objective which

is to try to facilitate and help in some fashion to bring about what the state department is calling deescalation. that is the fighting stops, the firing stops, the rockets stop. and, of course, there is no invasion or anything like that. so that's number one. but number two is the state department explains that it gives space, theoretically, at least, for some of those longer, maybe medium-term to longer issues, like the blockade of gaza, which the hamas definitely wants to stop. those issues might be able to be addressed. so there is kind of, you know, short-term, medium-term and long-term would be peace between israel and the palestinians, but that's very far away. but those are the immediate things. >> and what is interesting also is hamas is right now struggling for some sort of political legitimale

legitimacy. egypt is working with them as a member of the muslim brotherhood to broke they are cease-fire. i was reading in "the wall street journal" today and it revises the position on gaza, israel's withdrawal from gaza yielded less security for israel and a palestinian regime even more radical and emboldened than it had before. can peace happen with the palestinian authority, which is really the only authority that washington right now recognizes? >> well, the problem is, you know, you have kind of, by law, and then you have de facto. what is happening realistically. and theoretically or actually according to the law, the representative of the palestinian people is the palestinian authority in ramallah, mahmoud abbas, the person that secretary clinton will be dealing with and meeting with. they are the people that the u.s. recognizes. but you also have hamas, which

controls gaza. and actually you could argue, and many people would accept, that the palestinian authority really doesn't have any control or very little control over gaza. so in effect you could say there are almost two governments for the palestinians. one more radicalized and the other you would have to say a government that the u.s. can certainly deal with. that's the problem. so the only people who have real influence on gaza are the egyptians, maybe some other people, but certainly the egyptians and that's what they're trying to do. >> all right. major player, clearly, in talks for the cease-fire. there are some breaking news we're going to be hoping to get ben wedeman back on the phone as more rockets fall in gaza city. now, as we get word of a coming period, many residents and one israeli town are not happy about the possibility of a cease-fire. we're going to be going to ashkelon next.

we're waiting for what is carefully being termed a calming down period between israel and hamas. important to emphasize that neither side is actually calling this a cease-fire. i want to bring in cnn's frederick pleitgen in ashkelon. this calming down period, how is it being viewed there? >> reporter: well, people here are reacting quite cautiously to the announcement of a possible cease-fire. that's also possibly, deborah, due to the fact that there was a heavy barrage of rocket fire coming over this place, just a couple of minutes ago. it was really in the period, i would say, in about the last hour, that you had a lot of rockets that were fired over the town of ashkelon toward the town that is behind it. a lot of those were intercepted by the iron dome missile interceptor system, but some of them are actually threatening to come down here. we had a rocket alarm in ashkelon where we had to clear our position a little less than an hour ago. and hearing other israeli towns

have been shelled as well. some people believe that possibly these are militants in gaza who are firing off barrages before the calming down period, or cease-fire, or whatever it is going to be called, is going to be set in place. there is others who believe that possibly this could be them trying to work against the cease-fire. there was a lot of rockets that were being fired out of gaza, just a short time ago. right now, however, everything seems to have calmed down. we're waiting to see what that possible announcement could bring. >> when we talk about a calming down period, are people disappointed that it is not a truce, that it is not a cease-fire, but it is almost a time-out of sorts, where both sides are re-evaluating perhaps what their next strategy, their next move is? >> reporter: well, you know it interesting you ask that. i asked that of people here as well. it is interesting you use the word time-out. it is one that some people have used as well, but in sort of a

different context. many people we were speaking to here feel that the military operation should have gone on for longer if indeed it is halted and that the israeli military should have hit harder against militants in gaza. i spoke to some people who said they believe they have not achieved their objectives. they believe in several months or several years they might have to conduct the exact same military action once again. people are telling me here at ashkelon, quite frankly, they're sick of living in this situation where they have to deal with rocket attacks. this town doesn't only deal with rocket attacks and bad times like this, but even in the best of times they do that as well. deborah? >> i guess one quick question, just playing off of that, that is still they continue to live in ashkelon, or with all the threats and all the danger and all the risks. has anyone thought about not staying? >> reporter: oh, sure. people think about that all the time. but many people simply want to live here. other people have to work here. there are people who say they're

not going to let militants, not going to let rocket attacks drive them out of this town. there are people who tried to move to other places who will move to other places in israel. now there is sort of a -- i wouldn't say a migration, but people moving children to the north of israel at this point in time, at least for the period of this conflict and there is other people who say they won't deal with the rocket attacks and will move away from towns like this. that's not the majority of people. the majority of people stay here, they have a sort of daily routine on how they deal with this. and they're saying they're not going to be leaving these places even if these rocket attacks continue. however, of urse, they do hope for those rocket attacks don't continue, deb. >> okay, fred pleitgen, thanks so much. we appreciate it. more breaking news, new reports of explosions in gaza. cnn's ben wedeman is there live. and just as fred heard, rockets in ashkelon, you also heard explosions, ben. what do you know? >> reporter: yeah, there is a building just across the street, a little bit towards the sea

that got hit by what appears to be an israeli air strike, a very, very loud blast that really shook the building. we could feel the concussion and i heard some glass shattering and some of the floors below. so it is ironic that the evening, when we're speaking so much about a cease-fire, there seems to be more fire than anything else. deborah? >> is it that -- it is fascinating that both sides, it seems, to be least continuing launching rockets. does that suggest that they're going to go up until the alleged sort of quiet period begins? >> reporter: well, this is -- that was the case when there was a cease-fire announced at the end of the last major israeli operation here in gaza. and when these hostilities are about to end, oftentimes both sides have a point to make. hamas, for its point, wants to show that it is still standing, still has rockets, can still

fire them into israel and it has not been defeated. israel wants to show perhaps that it also has the resolve to carry on to the last minute. israel perhaps has a few targets left on its list that it wants to sort of check off before the operation ends. so in a sense they're working against the clock, both sides, to achieve their own unique ends. >> all right, ben wedeman there, thank you so much. we appreciate it. we'll continue to check on -- to see how this develops. we'll talk live with the israeli defense forces spokesman right after the break. to supply affordable, cleaner energy, while protecting our environment. across america, these technologies protect air - by monitoring air quality and reducing emissions... ...protect water - through conservation and self-contained recycling systems... ... and protect land - by reducing our footprint and respecting wildlife. america's natural gas...

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developments are unfolding quickly out of the middle east. as we have been reporting, discussions are under way to broker some sort of deal to halt the deadly violence in israel and gaza. nothing has been agreed to just yet. joining me on the phone from jerusalem to tell us where israel's operation stands is avatel leibovitz. thank you so much. what does israel need in order to agree to any sort of cease-fire? miss leibovitz, can you hear me now? >> i can hardly hear you. i'm sorry. >> okay. i'll speak a little more loudly.

what does israel want in order to agree to some sort of a cease-fire? >> well, i don't know anything about cease-fire at this point, but i can update you that today was a pretty difficult day for us here in israel. we have over 110 israelis that were wounded as a result of over 90 rockets that were fired toward civilian areas. the two last ones hit two homes directly in two major cities in israel. >> right now, we're being told that in order to have any sort of a truce, in order to have any sort of a diminishment of rockets there has to be a quieting down period. is that what you're understanding? have israeli defense forces been told to stop any rockets, any retaliation measures? >> well, currently there is no change and as i told you, it is

not quiet down. how does a seven-floor building was targeted in a few hours ago, rather two hours ago. the top floor was burning. and luckily the family stayed alive. every half an hour average, there is a siren somewhere in the country. this is obviously not quiet or safe at this point. >> when we think of the damage that is being done, hamas will say, well, an equal amount of damage is being done in gaza. so how do both sides get to the point where it stops? >> well, i think the equation that you're drawing is very problematic because hamas is a terror organization and the target that hamas looks for, civilian, while we, the country, are looking for targeting terrorist sites, launchers,

launched with rockets. we're looking for underground launchers. we're looking for people that are about to launch rockets. these are two separate issues and i'm not sure you can really make an equation here. >> i guess what some people would argue is that because gaza is so densely populated, you have 1.7 million people, there is virtually no way to avoid civilian casualties from israel into gaza. is that a fair statement or not? >> well, you know, all the places that i mentioned before that were hit were all very densely populated as well on the israeli side. we actually put a lot of measure minimizing civilian casualties. civilian casualties are not our goal. we're looking to stop the rockets, looking for the terror sites. overall we attacked over 1,500 targets, but yet the civilian casualty rate, it is tragic, but it is also low. and this shows the great effort.

now, i'll give you something interesting that happened today. we actually spread flyers, we dropped flyers from the air, asking people in gaza to go to certain areas in order for them to stay safe. the hamas radio on the other hand broke his -- broke into the broadcasting and said, were commending people in gaza not to live their homes and stay in their homes. this is the human shield factor we see over and over again in gaza. >> all right, thank you so much. spokeswoman for the israeli defense forces. we appreciate your insights and updates. thank you. what is at the heart of the latest violence in the middle east? we'll talk with one expert who says hamas is going through an internal conflict, a power struggle. [ male announcer ] citi turns 200 this year.

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well, moments ago we heard from the israeli defense forces spokeswoman, joining us now from

new jersey, a senior fellow with the american task force on palestine. thank you for being with us. the first thing that i would like to ask is the situation initially hamas called this a cease-fire and then back tracked. explain to me why the misunderstanding, if you might know. >> well, i think everyone has been changing their language on what this is and both sides appearing to be taking the opportunity to get their final shots in. for all of the israeli defense force spokeswoman's efforts to sort of say that hamas is trying to kill as many israelis as possible and israeli is being careful, the fact is many civilians and many of them children have been killed.

what's going on ultimately is that i think both sides have kind of overreached. they had their reasons for getting into this conflict on both sides. they both escalated at different moments, and now they're looking to pull back. but they want to do it seeming to their publics as if they have held strong against the other. i think that's what's causing this back and forth dance, this ca bucky show. i think we'll have a cease-fire sooner rather than later. >> and, you know, you talk about sort of the kabuki dance between two sides. we have been here before, seen both sides doing this. is this just a temporary stopgap? can with hamas in charge right now of at least the cease-fire and the truce, can there be any sort of longer term resolution? >> between israel and gaza run by hamas under the present circumstances, it is always going to be temporary until there is clarity with the p.a.

and the plo in ramallah. israel can make a peace agreement with the palestinians. the p.a. and the plo in particular, only legal authorized representatives of the palestinian people. so israel could make a deal with them. hamas and gaza could try to be a spoiler, but the palestinians want a peace agreement. they want independence. they want an independent state. i think public pressure would make it very hard for hamas to stand against that, if israel and the plo were able to do a deal. now, in the meanwhile, gaza is ruled by hamas and hamas, as you pointed out, is undergoing a power shift since the arab spring and since hamas lost its relationship with syria, its headquarters of its external leadership in damascus and most of its relationship with iran. i think there has been an effort by factions inside gaza, to try to pull ultimate decision-making, real power within the group -- and in order

to do that, they started firing rockets to israel again and say we rule and we fight and we're the decisionmakers. you guys go and deal with our friends and get us money and support from the arab states, but that's -- >> so they're finding their political voice in many respects. earlier today piers morgan spoke with israeli president shimon peres. let's take a quick listen. one moment. >> we will work with the people of gaza to try not to make their lives difficult. gaza is open, the economic situation was improved and we don't know why all of a sudden they decided to shoot. >> so that was the president shimon peres. is that accurate portrayal? >> yeah, i think there is a lot of truth in what he said actually. i strongly disagreed with the characterization you just had from the spokeswoman, but i think that's not unfair.

i think between the last conflict between israel and hamas at the end of 2008, beginning of 2009, after that, the hamas rulers in gaza i thought -- the people on the ground thought that they had more to lose from a conflict with israel and violence with israel. so they talked a lot about armed resistance, but they fired very few rockets and they didn't let anybody else do it. because of the internal power struggle and because they want to say to the external leadership and to everybody else in hamas, hey, we rule gaza and we do the fighting against israel, they have unfurled again the banner of armed resistance and dragged this in. now, let me just say, though, israel too escalated at one point. there was a cease-fire that was holding and israel used that cease-fire and they admit this to lull hamas into a false sense of security and murder its military commander, which set off the latest round, so -- and they are in an election cycle and i think israeli politicians

are also sinically using this violence to seem tough, to strike a pose, to win points against their rivals, and so i think you have very few clean hands here. i do think, yeah, the change within dynamics within hamas explain why this started again in 2012. >> and very quickly, i know this may not be fair, but yes or no answer, has the united states lost its opportunity to help negotiate or broker a peace settlement between israel and the palestinian authority now that hamas is such a powerful player, yes or no? >> no. absolutely not. if we put our hearts and our political capital into it, i think we cannot only have a chance, i think we can succeed. >> hussein ibish, thank you for joining us today. >> thank you very much. secretary of state hillary clinton gets ready to arrive in the region, we'll look at how the international community is working to find a peaceful solution. oh no, not a migraine now.

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here with me now, hala gorani. >> not very positive developments. we're hearing from the egyptian government we will not be getting any announcement on an end of hostilities tonight. that was the expectation that perhaps at 9:00 p.m. local, which is 2:00 p.m. eastern, 45 minutes ago, we were going to get an announcement of the beginning of a period of calm initiated by hamas. now a little earlier in the day, a source told me that as far as the israelis are concerned, they'll sign on the dotted line, only if they are assured a period of calm of at least 24 hours. then we heard from hamas that possibly that period of calm would be announced at 9:00 p.m. local, 45 minutes ago. now we're hearing no announcement. it is not looking good for right now. >> what is interesting is because even when this was first announced there was a cease-fire, hamas came out and said, truce, cease-fire, israel backpedaled and said, no, no, we don't have anything yet and

netanyahu was forceful about saying we're not going to do anything until the rockets stop. >> another development is that israel lost a soldier in southern israel today. so we have confirmed that with the israeli military as well. that's made that announcement. there reports a second israeli soldier may have been killed near the border as well. now, those two developments, we can look at how close everything is, because when you think of the middle east, you think of a big place. but, you know, technically it should take you 20 minutes to drive this distance without checkpoints or closures or borders or anything like that. it is a completely different story when you have to make the journey. look, we're talking here about northern gaza, here is southern israel. if there are deaths of israeli soldiers, it would have occurred close to the border, the part you see here. if those two deaths are changing the equation right now in terms of what israel is prepared to accept, that might be something to take into consideration. >> and what is so interesting is

the crucial role that egypt plays, but it also can't be ignored that egypt won't let anybody from gaza pass into its territory. there are no refugee camps, no sort of settlements. so it is really locked in. they can't go into israel and can't go into -- >> occasionally the rafah border will be open, but one of the conduits between egypt and gaza that angers israel so much are the smuggling tunnels. the tunnels are used for arms. but what people must remember is they're always used as well for other goods. this is the way in and out for people in the palestinian territory here, the gaza strip. one of the other things i think we should be looking out for in the coming hours are announcements from the israeli government, because the -- of course, secretary of state hillary clinton is making a trip, cut short the asia trip and i understand from someone who i spoke with in israel a few minutes ago, her meeting with benjamin netanyahu is scheduled for 11:00 p.m., could be pushed closer to midnight. these are 11th hour talks now. >> absolutely, no question. first to israel, meets with the

prime minister, then she goes to the west bank, to ramallah to meet with the palestinian authority. and then going to egypt and somehow the folks in gaza get themselves to egypt. got a little sort of -- >> the u.s. doesn't speak to hamas. when you want israel and hamas to negotiate, you need someone in the middle and that's egypt. >> that's where confusion can arise. hala gorani, thank you so much. for more than 116 years, ameriprise financial has worked for their clients' futures. helping millions of americans retire on their terms. when they want. where they want. doing what they want. ameriprise. the strength of a leader in retirement planning. the heart of 10,000 advisors working with you one-to-one. together for your future. ♪ throughout our lives. one a day women's 50+ is a complete multivitamin

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what's in your wallet? it was the deadly collision between a parade float and a train. now the moment of impact. it is being re-created, four veterans were killed, the national transportation safety board is at the railroad crossing in midland, texas, with a train and a flatbed truck to find out what could be seen when and where. the veterans were seated on the back of the flatbed when an eastbound train traveling at nearly 70 miles an hour slammed into it. investigators say the track's warning system, a bell, lights and a gate, all of that was working, giving it a 20-second warning that a train was coming. in massachusetts, thousands of undocumented immigrants can now qualify for lower state tuition at the state's colleges. the new policy applies to young people brought to the united states illegally as children.

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hour. that is the equivalent to a category 3 hurricane. four men from southern california have been arrested over an alleged terror plot. the fbi says they were planning to join al qaeda and the taliban in violent jihad. authorities say they have been making arrangements over skype to head to afghanistan for stage one terror training like the training in this taliban video. american military staff and bases overseas allegedly were among their targets. authorities say they were caught after divulging their plans to someone who turned out to be an fbi informant. she's known as the soccer mom madam. and today anna christina got a jail sentence for her crimes. she was let go for time served and good behavior because she spent four months at new york's rikers island. she is the suburban mom of four who ran a multimillion dollar prostitution ring on new york's wealthy upper east side. there is a lot going on in

israel and the middle east. there say lot more coverage coming. and up next, we will have special coverage of breaking news from the middle east, and that begins right now. i'm anderson cooper reporting from gaza city. i welcome our viewers on cnn in the united states and watching around the world on cnn international. for the last hour or two, much of the world has been watching and waiting for some sort of statement to be made out of cairo, egypt. no state has thus far been made. a senior hamas official told cnn that a statement would be made announcing a cooling off period, but, again, no such announcement has been made. we're still waiting to see if any announcement will be coming out of cairo or anywhere else this evening, in the hours ahead. it is 10:00 here in gaza city. within the last 40 minutes or

so, we have heard a large number of explosions in gaza city. just about 40 minutes ago, while ben wedeman was on the air, there was a large blast about a block or block and a half away from the location we're in right now. i want to show you what happened as it occurred. >> i think it is pretty clear that we are moving in the direction of -- i can hear shattering glass out there right now. the building just shook. of course, because i was looking at the camera, i didn't see where the blast took place. anybody see it? okay, to the north of this building here. so despite talk of cease-fire, hala, it appears that the guns are still firing. >> and i can tell you just while we were playing you that tape, which took place about 40 minutes ago, there was another blast about a mile from here, incoming round. we actually went to the scene of that blast, ben wedeman

experienced, about a block or a block and a half away. it is apparently a ville why owned by a very well known banker, former minister who no longer lives there, locals says it was unclear who was using that building, but the building was destroyed, a fire started. did not see any sign of wounded or any bodies. but, again, can't confirm if there were injuries or fatalities as a result of that blast. i want to bring in arwa damon and we'll bring in wolf blitzer live in jerusalem for us. what do we know about this -- any chance of -- they're not calling it a truce, not calling it a cease-fire, they're calling it a cooling off period. >> at this point it most learn sy feels off that cooling off period has not materialized. we were talking about everything we the residents of gaza have been experiencing most recently and you were talking about that house just hit around the corner. and saying how people that lived around it didn't necessarily know who may have been occupying it at the time. that's what people are facing out here tonight. they don't necessarily know to

the full extent who is living around them, so they don't necessarily know if they'll be safer at home or safer if they leave. >> also earlier in the day, during daylight hours, we could see leaflets being dropped by idf forces. you actually have one of the leaflets. what is it telling locals? >> this is the leaflet being dropped and it is telling the local population to stay away from certain neighborhoods, neighborhoods in that direction. and it is giving then the specific routes that they should actually be taking, specific roads that are supposed to be safe for them -- but we went down to some schools that are now being used as refugee camps and people are piling in and donkey cart after donkey cart, people belongings packed on top of it, arriving on trucks, trying to seek sanctuary in the schools. even while we were in the schools, we heard a blast that rattled windows, went outside and less than a minute drive away it was a vehicle struck, two people in it were killed and even in these schools when people are fleeing, trying to

stay safe, there isn't that sense that they're actually going to be. >> another scene we witnessed earlier today, during daylight hours, shortly before it got dark and around dusk, about six or so motorcycles driving down one of the main streets near gaza city, with a number of men on the back, tied to the rear of one of the motorcycles was the body of a man who was being dragged down the street, clearly dead, the men on the motorcycles yelling out, god is great, saying he was a collaborator, a spy for israel. and local reports were that six people had been shot, accused as being collaborators, though no trial, of course. >> and we were also speaking earlier to a local journalist here and she was telling us that the last time there was war between gaza and israel, around 90 people were executed in a similar fashion during the duration of that, people were accused of being israeli spies and also saying that -- how it is for her, for a lot of her

friends, people that we're talking to, seeing scenes like that, she witnessed that, as well herself, it really made her blood curdle. this is not a gaza population that normally behaves in this manner and she was just saying that it goes to show you how frustrated and angry people do become in this kind of a situation, so you have this boiling anger towards the israelis because of what is happening to them. you this ongoing anger and frustration because people have been living like this for decades. and there is anger because they're seeing their own society deteriorate and turn against itself as well. >> hillary clinton just landed in tel aviv. let's join wolf blitzer standing by in jerusalem. wolf, do we know what hillary clinton -- what her schedule is going to be, what she intends to be doing? >> she's going to be coming from tel aviv, from the airport, outside of tel aviv, going to be driving to jerusalem and she's going to go right into a meeting with the prime minister of israel, benjamin netanyahu.

we do expect either before or after the meeting statements from hillary clinton and from benjamin netanyahu. and my sense is anderson, there could be an announcement of some sort of tentative agreement, if you will, cease-fire or truce, maybe it will happen at that meeting, the u.s. has been very much involved behind the scenes, the president has been making phone calls from he's asia trip, the secretary of state has been making phone calls from her trip. she's going to meet with netanyahu tonight. tomorrow, to ramallah on the west bank to meet with mahmoud abbas and then to cairo to meet with the new egyptian president mohamed morsi. she's very much involved in all of this. i do think that the u.s. and the israelis to a certain degree have been impressed by the role that egypt has played as a facilitator. egypt has good relations with hamas right now. and the egyptians played a very significant role. if, in fact, a cease-fire is announced within the next hour or two, and there is good reason

to believe some sort of announcement will be made, it could be made by the prime minister with the secretary of state at their joint event coming up soon, then i think the egyptians will have played a very significant role in making that happen. here is a question, though, that i think we'll have to answer. what was the u.s. role in helping to a certain degree to make this possible, u.s. assurances provided to the egyptians? u.s. assurances provided to the israelis? i don't know if there were financial, additional economic or military assistance along those lines? these are some of the questions, anderson, i suspect we're going to be pondering in the coming hours. >> right. and, again, reminds to be seen what kind of announcement if any will be made, where that is made, whiether in jerusalem or y a hamas official in cairo, about a cooling off period on the ground here in gaza. we certainly have not seen much of a cooling off period in the

last several hours and including this hour as well. it is not clear, though, wolf, and i'm interested in your thoughts on this, hillary clinton is going to be meeting with mahmoud abbas, the palestinian authority in ramallah. the u.s. does not recognize hamas, therefore they will not be meeting directly with hamas. does -- why are they meeting with mahmoud abbas? has he really played much of a role here? is that more of a face-saving gesture? >> iis. i think it is more of a face-saving symbolic gesture because the u.s. had a good relationship with the plo, the fattah, a branch of the palestinian movement led by mahmoud abbas and they want to continue that. these are the palestinians, mahmoud abbas, the palestinian authority that does recognize israel, does raise previous israeli/palestinian agreements and vowed to stop violence, if

you will. as a result, the u.s., the european union, others recognized them as the authoritative voice of the palestinians. they don't recognize hamas, hillary clinton, for example, as you know, won't be going to gaza to meet with hamas. u.s. officials don't meet with hamas. the european union doesn't meet with hamas because they see hamas as a terrorist organization. but there are indirect contacts through others. and in this particular case, largely through egypt, also through turkey. also through qatar. countries that the u.s. has very good relations with, but direct u.s. negotiations or talks with hamas, that's out of the question until hamas accepts the basic conditions put forward, end violence against israel, accept previous israeli/palestinian agreements, recognize israel's right to exist. at that point, the u.s. would recognize hamas but that hasn't happened yet. >> hasn't happened and no sign that all of those conditions are going to be met anytime soon.

again, another large explosion here. we're going to take another short break and have more with wolf and arwa and our correspondents throughout the region. when we come back, we want to show you how the rockets are getting into gaza. fascinating up close look. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare...

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my money. my choice. my meineke. welcome back to our conti e continuing coverage of situation here in gaza city and israel and the gaza strip. one of the things we have been witnessing over the last seven or so days of the conflict is the increasing level of sophistication of some of the rockets being fired by forces here, in the gaza strip, toward israel. and particularly these fajr 5 rockets. we want to look at how the rockets are getting here, the pipeline through which they are being sent, our executive editor tim lister joins us now with that from atlanta. >> this is how it works according to u.s. officials, egyptian officials, israeli officials. the weapon components start in

iran. they come via ship from ports or through flights across iraq, jordan, egypt, and into sudan. some come into khartoum. some to port sudan, the major sudanese port on the red sea. from there, a very long land journey up to the top of sudan, up into egypt, and then across into sinai. sinai may not look like much, but it is the size of west virginia, it is huge, empty, and bedouin smugglers are known to pretty much control the whole territory. the egyptian state doesn't have much to do in sinai. we talked to a bedouin tribal leader yesterday who said they're very clever not to use the highways, the few highways that go across sinai. they let the air down in their tires and cross the deep sand, very often carrying african migrants and weapons, fajr 5, fajr 3 parts in the same 4 by 4s until they get across to the gaza border.

anderson? >> and then they're brought in through the tunnels between egypt and gaza, yes? >> they're brought in through the tunnels. very often disassembled according to some of the bedouin sources we were talking to yesterday. some of the tunnels are huge. you can get a truck through them. therefore they're capable of taking in quite a lot of ammunition, anti-missile rockets, antiaircraft missiles, and the other wrinkle is now that since gadhafi's fall in libya, we see missiles, anti-tank missiles, that have crossed from the libyan border up here, across the delta, and across sinai to the gaza border. there are multiple sources now. the egyptian security forces simply can't cope with this inflow, especially in an area like sinai, which is pretty lawless to start with. >> i want to bring in cnn's ben wedeman, has a lot of experience with the region, lived in cairo until recently.

you spent time in gaza, in one of these bomb-making factories, essentially, rocket-making factories but the level of sophistication has grown exponentially. >> the weapons they're making in the workshop were crude, they made -- the propellant was made out of fertilize, all pretty much put together locally. what we're seeing now with the fajr 5 rockets, these are sophisticated rockets that can go very long way. and we have seen them go out and they look like the real thing as opposed to the homemade rockets were crude. they had -- they have no guidance systems whatsoever. the rocket teams had three minutes to set them up and fire them. otherwise the israelis would find them, target them and kill them. >> the pipeline through the sinai controlled by the bedouins, they must know the rockets are coming through. >> they do. and the nature of the egyptian police and security services is that they're very poorly paid

and they're very easy to bribe. therefore, it is not too difficult if there say lot of money involved, to do almost anything. in the sinai in particular, a part of egypt that since the revolution has really become a lawless area where theand of the egyptian government is quite light at this point. >> there is obviously a lot of anger toward israel here and blame directed toward israel. are people upset that hamas will set up a rocket battery in a neighborhood? >> yes, they are. you have to realize, a lot of the people have nothing to do with hamas. they may don't support hamas and they -- when they find out hamas is setting up a rocket launcher right next to their house, they're not happy. i've seen over the years going back many years that ordinary palestinians have told fighters and rocket launchers teams and what not, don't come near my house because they know that what happens is the strike will come back and they could pay the ultimate price. >> what are we seeing from israeli capabilitys?

we're seeing -- we're still hearing the constant presence of drones overhead, some drones capable of firing rockets, also ships off shore, artillery pieces, on israeli territory, and fighter jets as well. >> that's true, anderson. even before these missiles, rockets get anywhere close to the gaza strip, the israelis are thought to have intercepted several shipments in sudan. they won't say anything about it as they often will not, but the sudanese claimed on four separate occasion, israeli planes have struck at convoys, carrying weapons, there were two cars very close to port sudan, one last year, the one the year before that 2010 that were hit, a big convoy struck in 2009 thought to be carrying fajr 3 components. last month, a large industrial complex, on the edge of khartoum, we can see the satellite photographs of before and after, it was hit six

enormous craters, 16 meters each of them, an entire ammunition plant destroyed, 40 trailers -- shipping containers destroyed. israelis said nothing. the sudanese were convinced it was an israeli air strike carried out against an ammunition factory. that particular factory, according to u.s. officials, has been essentially under iranian control since 2006. so although the israelis say nothing, they have been pretty active in monitoring this pipeline of weapons shipments and trying to stop it whenever they can. >> fascinating to see the pipeline up close. thanks very much. we'll take a short break. our coverage continues. hillary clinton landed earlier. we want to get an update on where negotiations or discussions may stand now. [ male announcer ] how do you trade?

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well, there has been a lot of speculation, a lot of rumors eric lot of discussion over the last several hour, last several days about a potential

cease-fire, potential truce. we got word from a senior hamas official to cnn several hours ago there would be an announcement out of cairo at 9:00 local time. it is now well past 10:00 local time. no such announcement was made. originally the word was that hamas was going to be announcing what they described as a cooling off period, or calming down period. what exactly that means, what the parameters of that are was unclear then and certainly unclear now. we continue to hear explosions here in gaza city and elsewhere in gaza. i want to bring in someone from the washington institute, david mcavoy joining us -- david makosky. what are you hearing from the israeli government side about negotiations of any potential announcement? >> look, i've heard from officials this evening that they thought there would be a text,

an agreement somewhere very late tonight. but, you know, anderson, in the middle east there is brinkmanship and people don't always know where the brink is. sometimes the fighting is fiercest before the cease-fire, but i think the hope was that there would be a text this evening, and it would be while hillary clinton is here. they want to give egypt the credit, but her role was unclear, but, you know, in this brinkmanship, anderson, you never know if one side puts in a few words, the other side can live with, and until it's done, it isn't done. so i wouldn't go to the bank with this yet. even though there is optimism, i wouldn't take it to the bank at this point. >> yeah, until something is actually done and even once it is done, it still has to be seen how it is actually carried out on the ground. hamas not in full control of all of the forces, all the groups operating here in gaza and capable of firing rockets toward israel. do you know from the he's yalis

side what the parameters of a cease-fire would need to entail in. >> well, clearly israel talked about this two-stage cease-fire, which is quiet for quiet as they call it. that, you know, people just stop firing if people want something more elaborate, then there would be that sort of conversation. but, you know, with the reservists, you know, poised on the border, and people in shelters, they think that any sort of negotiation would be protracted and they certainly -- they don't want to hold themselves to that. they just want to stop the fire and then have a more elaborate conversation and the question is if, like, a small -- a more basic cease-fire morphed into a wider cease-fire with more responsibilities for each side, and that will, you know, there is going to be demands here on all sides. i think in the short-term all sides can claim some political credit of a basic cease-fire, but, you know, the question is

are they will be to be more ambitious and develop it even further and therefore make it less likely that there will be another round of fighting down the road. >> and that likelihood always remains. as we have seen in the past, when there have been cease-fires in the past, violence does break out until there is some sort of a long-term solution and that seems far off. david, appreciate your expert ties. thank you for joining us. our coverage continues from here in this region. we're going to be going back later on to wolf blitzer who is monitoring developments. hillary clinton is on the ground. she's going to be heading toward jerusalem to meet with prime minister netanyahu. from there we'll be going to ramallah to meet with mahmoud abbas. we'll be right back. [ lisa ] my name's lisa, and chantix helped me quit. i honestly loved smoking, and i honestly didn't think i would ever quit. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke.

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welcome back. i'm anderson cooper live from gaza city. over the last hour or so, we heard a number of explosions off in the distance. as we have been awaiting some sort of a statement about a cooling off period. that had been the word from hamas official to cnn earlier this evening that they would be announce something sort of a calming down or cooling off period in advance of a cease-fire or some sort of truce. let's check in with hala gorani in atlanta who has been monitoring the latest developments on what -- where the negotiations now stand. hala, what are you hearing? >> we're hearing as you are as well that the egyptian government is now saying no announcement tonight. there had been some hope this, quote, cooling off period would come out of cairo this evening. and there was also some hope that perhaps this would be the beginning of a period of calm that israel has told one of my sources it has requested in order to sign on to any deal. so it is not looking, you know, as good as it was a few hours

ago, anderson. a few hours ago it appeared as though the sides were coming closer together. now with the reports that at least one israeli soldier was killed in southern israel, and you have the announcement from the egyptian presidency that there will be sort of no announcement of a period of cooling off, so it looks as though we're taking -- if we took two steps forward earlier in the day, it appears that now as though we're taking one step back. and we'll see what this hillary clinton, the u.s. secretary of state's visit is going to achieve in the next few minutes with the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu. >> yeah, we're -- we -- she arrived within this hour and awaiting to hear what if anything comes out of that meeting. from me, and with netanyahu, she'll go on to meet with mahmoud abbas in ramallah, correct? >> right. mahmoud abbas in ramallah, the decline authority and then cairo, which, of course, is the essential element in any equation that could lead to a cease-fire. as you know, the u.s. doesn't

speak to hamas. israel doesn't speak to hamas. egypt is the mediator in this, the middle man. it is a new egypt. this is the egypt of post hosni mubarak. it is a completely new region where you have post arab spring governments that need to answer to their constituents. and to their citizens. and, of course, need to politic as well. this is a question of appearing to side with the palestinian cause, in order to gain the sympathy of ordinary people in the streets. this is something that mohamed morsi knew was going to come as a test. this is a big test of his leg legitimacy and popularity. it is a political game he's having to play now. it would appear very bad for him if this announcement he made earlier today that there would be a deal within a few hours doesn't happen at all in the next 24 hours. it is something that would be bad pr for him, anderson. >> yeah, no doubt about that. hala, appreciate that. we'll continue to check in with you. it is not just hamas, which is the group which is in control

here. there are other groups as well, which the u.s. and israel and others consider terrorist groups. islamic jihadi is one of those groups there was a strike yesterday that killed one official from jihad. we'll show you up close, give you a look at what islam jihad is when we come pack. [ male announcer ] with over 50 delicious choices of green giant vegetables it's easy to eat like a giant... ♪ and feel like a green giant. ♪ ho ho ho ♪ green giant [ male announcer ] you build a reputation by not breaking down. consider the silverado 1500 -- still the most dependable, longest-lasting full-size pickups on the road. and now we've also been recognized for lowest total cost of ownership -- based on important things, like depreciation, fuel, and maintenance costs. and now trade up to get a 2012 chevy silverado all-star edition with a total value of $9,000.

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welcome back to our continuing coverage live from gaza city. as you know, there are a number of different palestinian groups. in the west bank, there is fattah. the palestinian authority that is in control of that area. here in gaza it is hamas, which is in control. but there are also a number of other groups. islamic jihad is also one of those groups, a name you probably heard a lot about over last several days. we wanted to get an up close look on who they are, what their beliefs are and who is backing them. i'm joined by aaron david

miller. explain islamic jihad in their operations here. >> well, the jihadis emerged in the late '80s, early '90s. it's been a group that has been dedicated, essentially, to military struggle. it offers no political or social safety net. in other words, it doesn't provide in the tradition of the muslim brotherhood or in the hamas a kind of social and economic network in order to attract and reinforce and consolidate its adherence. it is divided over the years. it is smaller now than ever. but it has demonstrated along with a number of other jihadi groups that operate in sinai, sponsored probably with links to al qaeda, al qaeda subcontractors, it shows the capacity of militant, tiny groups to disrupt an already volatile situation. one of the reasons i think, that you have a deterioration of the

agreement in formal that was worked out between hamas and israel by the egyptians in '08, '09, is you had jihadi groups. and, remember, as -- in the way the egyptian revolution, and changes, sinai has slipped increasingly out of control of egyptian security and military establishments. so these groups continue to operate and i think the israelis grew the conclusion that the guy they took out, last week, was essentially unable or unwilling to control the jihadi groups. >> so even if hamas agrees to some cooling off period, or even finally signs some sort of a cease-fire, are they able to make sure that islamic jihad does not break that? >> well, i mean, i think you've got the -- the inherent paradox of any cease-fire agreement. i'm not sure hamas would go into this without some measure of

acquiescence on the part of the smaller groups. remember, the jihadi and islamist stock now is rising. you have a fundamentally divided palestinian national movement, a kind of noah's arc where there is two of everything. and the religious manifestation of palestinian nationalism, hamas, is rising. and abbas looks weaker and more feckless. one reason, i'm sure, secretary of state clinton is going to pay a visit to mahmoud abbas is to pay him some attention. in fact, he's been ignored, so the reality is the jihadis, including islamic jihad, understand that their boat is rising as well. the only wild card here, anderson, i think, is that the iranians may well believe that a long-term cease-fire is not in their interest, and it certainly is not beyond the stretch of imagination that tehran, in an effort to disrupt this, would continue to channel support funds and logistics to some of

the smaller groups. >> yesterday we witnessed a strike on the media center, which is just about four blocks away from the location i'm in right now. we had the video of the strike, three rockets hit from different angles into that building. and local sources and israeli officials. one member of islamic jihad was killed in that strike. they say a target of several members who were in the building at the time, but we know one member was killed. how big an organization are we talking about and where are they getting their support from? >> small. small, in the hundreds. probably no more. iran and syria, it was a primary supporter of islamic jihad during the '90s. but as syria, as syria begins to melt down that source of support has dried up. it is primarily iran. and i suspect that that support, its minimum expenditure for maximum effort. we have seen this time and time

again, when small willful organizations are prepared to act in defiance of the majority, and this clearly is going to be an issue that the israelis and egyptians will be watching as both stake their credibility on the continuation of a cease-fire that has certain structural impairments that may threaten its success. >> aaron david miller, appreciate your time tonight. thank you. and your expertise as well. we'll talk to sara sidner in jerusalem. as you know, this conflict is different than what it was in 2008-2009, islamic jihad, hamas, has the fajr 5 rockets that can reach jerusalem and tel aviv. we'll show you some of the impact of that ahead. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] it started long ago.

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again, you just heard more incoming there, just quickly looking, don't actually see any impact zone, so it is probably not in this -- at least in my field of vision over here for now. but we have been hearing a number of explosions really all evening long. ben wedeman was on the air about an hour and a half ago when there was a large explosion about a block from here that actually broke glass in this building. we went over there, weren't able to see if there were any bodies. we arrived just about the time the first ambulance was just about getting there. there was a villa on fire that was said to be the target of the strike. it is unclear if anybody was this there at the time. it is not clear what that blast was either. let's check in with sara sidner in jerusalem. she spent a lot of time here in gaza city over the last several days. she's now in jerusalem. the last time we saw outgoing rockets was probably several hours ago. i'm not sure if rockets have been fired from elsewhere in gaza toward israel.

have you been seeing any incoming rockets in jerusalem or elsewhere? >> we have, from our vantage point, we're on the mount of olive looking down on the old city and we're quite high up. we can see rockets just about 15, 20 minutes ago we saw another set of rockets come in. you can see the bright light that looks like it is landing somewhere either near ashkelon or ashdod, the cities in southern israel so close to the border. we're still seeing that. i think everyone is hearing about this talk of the potential of a cease-fire, at least a quieting down, a 24-hour quiet period, but then they see the rockets and then they hear the blasts there, the air strikes there in gauze why and that sort of hope drains from people there are a lot of residents on both sides who they really want to see this calm down, but what they really want ultimately is something that is going to be a permanent solution. and that permanent solution just hasn't come for so long. to see this ratchet up like this, and hear about the talk of potential cease-fire, and then to see the rockets coming and

then hear about the air strikes there in gaza, it is frustrating to a lot of residents who have been through a lot on both sides of the border. >> are you hearing anything from people about expectations now that hillary clinton is here? do people really expect much to come from that? the u.s. has not been in the forefront on the ground here over the last several days. >> i think there is hope there, there is optimism that perhaps she'll have the -- be able to put pressure on both sides. but what is happening here in israel, she's going to be here, talking with the israeli leadership, the prime minister, and just about 30 minutes or so. and we know she's landed, but, of course, you know, gaza has to be in that equation, there has to be conversations with the leadership in gaza. there are many groups, you have hamas and islamic jihad, for example, so all of these groups have to come together in agreement with each other and then with israel to decide, okay, we're going to deescalate

the situation, hoping that people from the outside coming in will put some pressure on both sides. yes, that's there. but really until there is an actual agreement, until that agreement is stuck to, there is a lot of worry here on this side of the border. i know in gaza as well, there just has been so many rockets, so much bombing, and there have been so many people hurt and injured here and in israel, we have five people who have been killed, including a soldier and we're talking about, you know, more than 100 people there in gaza. >> yeah, sara sidner, appreciate that. as you said, sara mentioned israel announced today a soldier was killed today, the first time a soldier so far has been killed in this conflict by rocket attack. that occurred earlier today. when we come back, our ben wedeman looks at the toll the conflict has taken on one family. built around a state of mind? ♪ announcing the all-new 2013 malibu from chevrolet.

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welcome back to our continuing coverage live -- welcome back to our continuing coverage live from gaza city. one of the most controversial blasts that we saw was on sunday, the israeli defense forces hit a building they said was owned by a member of hamas -- a head of a rocket unit they said. initially they said they had killed him in the blast. then emerged that nine members of a family were killed in the blast that were apparently staying in the house. and israeli defense forces walked their statement back saying they could not confirm whether or not they killed the hamas member they were trying to target and acknowledge that members of a family were killed there which the israeli defense forces call regrettable. ben wedeman went to the funeral of that family which occurred yesterday. take a look. >> reporter: the body of 5-year-old is held aloft as calls ring out for revenge. in life he was a child known only to his family and friends.

in death yet another potent symbol for the cameras and the angry crowds. he and eight other members of the family were killed sunday afternoon in an israeli air strike on their home. israeli officials say they were targeting a hamas military official though no hamas official is known to be among the dead. their bodies were carried through the street to the sound of gunfire under the banners of hamas to the one cemetery. the crowd leaves and chanting stops, real mourning begins. friends and relatives quietly pray for the dead. quiet tears are shed for the latest to die so suddenly without warning. this man's brother was killed in another israeli attack sunday. like so many here he's weary of war but sees only more coming. there will be an escalation he

says. israel won't accept our conditions. it wants blood for blood. this man and his team of grave diggers prepared 15 graves. their busiest morning yet and they're preparing for more. what's left he asks me. no one is safe anymore in their homes. the main cemetery for gaza city is out of town near the israeli border and therefore too dangerous to hold funerals at. now they're bringing the dead here to this cemetery, but this cemetery has no more room for new graves. back where the 5-year-old's home once stood, mourners agree in a -- political wing of the muslim brotherhood. a member of his delegation loudly vows vengeance against israel for the deaths of gaza's

children. children caught in a struggle they were too young to comprehend but not too young to die in. ben wedeman, cnn, gaza. >> welcome back. we just had a number of large blasts here while we were playing ben wedeman's piece. i'm sorry. i'm just looking for impact. i haven't actually seen it. quite loud. we're trying to rerack the tape and show that to you shortly. we're going to take another quick break and when we come back, jill dougherty, our state department correspondent what she's hearing from the u.s. delegation why they're not using the word cease fire. we'll be right back. questions?

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take us back down to jerusalem and check in with our sara sidner. again, you've just heard more incoming there. just quickly looking. don't actually see any impact. so it's probably not in this at least in my field of vision over here for now. that was about ten or 15 minutes

ago. and probably about five minutes ago there were a series of three explosions as well. i can actually see some smoke a couple blocks from where i am. can actually smell the burning smell of burning metal. i want to check in with jill dougherty, our state department correspondent find out what if anything she's hearing on hillary clinton's visit. jill, what are you hearing? i know officials are not using cease fire, calling off was the term hamas was using earlier. there's been no announcement on any cooling off period. we're certainly not seeing any here. jill. >> anderson, here at the state department there was a little ruckus you could call it at the briefing about that word, why officials aren't using it. and one of the reasons that we are told they're not using the word cease fire is because they're not quite sure, what know man clay sure would be -- you don't want to lock yourself

in and define things before the properties involved are. another factor. why did hillary clinton have to fly halfway around the globe to go to the mideast? we're told it's really because she believes in being there, showing up talking in person. and that's what the president wanted her to do. sit down with people and really, you know, talk with them person to person. i think the important things and even talking about this is why if you can't talk to hamas doesn't that kind of undercut her trip? but obviously they can't do that. it's considered a terrorist organization. but she'll be talking to the main players. >> all right. jill dougherty, appreciate that reporting. i'll be back on "ac 360" at 8:00 and 10:00 eastern tonight for a full wrapup of the day's events. it often gets much more active during the night during those